DIGITAL EOS
ESSENTIALS
In this edition of Digital EOS Essentials we explain all you
need to know about working with colour in your Canon
CANONSCHOOL
82 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
here are a number
of different EOS
functions that give
you control over the
way in which colours are
rendered in your shots.
The one that has by far
the biggest impact is
white balance. If this is
incorrectly set, the entire
colour palette of the image or
video you’re shooting will look
wrong. We’ve covered white
balance (WB) in Digital EOS
Essentials, but it’s worth us
taking a look again as it’s a key
control to get to grips with.
White balance can be used
either correctively or
creatively. It’s designed to help
neutralize colour casts so that
colours appear natural. If the
camera didn’t have a white
balance function, then objects
would take on the hue and tint
of the light source. For
instance, a white wall lit by awarm, yellow household bulb
would look yellow in a photo.
That same white wall,
photographed in cool blue
shade would then appear blue.
You can leave the camera to
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itself, but the Auto white
balance setting doesn’t always
get things right. Manually
setting a preset that matches
the light source, or making
your own custom white
balance setting, can help to
correct most colour casts.
You can also use t his
function creatively by
intentionally setting an
incorrect white balance to
exaggerate a colour cast
slightly and enhance the
mood. To boost a sunset, for
example, you can set one of
the presets that is designed to
warm up an image taken in
cool blue light conditions,
such as Cloudy or Shade.YOU CAN only set one WB colour
temp for an image, which can be a
problem when dealing with mixed
lights. So, if you set the WB to match
the green tint of a fluorescent light
source, the camera basically adds
the equivalent of a magenta filter to
cancel out the green. Meaning if you
activate the flash, the white light from
the flash will be tinted magenta!You can get around this by adding
a colour correction gel or filter to the
flash that matches the primary light
source. In this example, adding a
green filter will ensure the light
blends in with the fluorescent light. If
you’re shooting under tungsten light
or candlelight, then a warm orange
filter will ensure the flash light
doesn’t look too blue, and so on.Corrected
Take control of colour
Discover which Canon camera features enable you to get more vivid, or subtle, results
T
Colour correcting flash
MARCUS HAWKINS
PHOTO EXPERT
Marcus has been passionate about
photography for more than 25
years. A former editor of our sister
publicationDigital Camera, he has
written about photography and
cameras for a wide range of clients,
including Canon and Jessops, and
uses a Canon EOS 5 D Mk III.Auto^ White^ Balan
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ed